Competing elected school board bills possible

There could be competing — or conflicting — bills in the state Legislature to allow Gadsden residents to vote on whether the city’s school board members should be elected rather than appointed.

It also could be the first volley in a high-stakes, high-profile political battle, 10 months ahead of the 2018 general election.

Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, has advertised a bill setting up a referendum on changing the school board — members currently are appointed by the City Council — and had planned to introduce it this week. However, Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, on Tuesday said he will introduce a similar bill of his own, and insists Butler’s bill can’t be considered without being re-advertised because it has been substantially changed.

Butler’s bill had called for seven members of the Gadsden City Board of Education to be elected from the City Council districts, should voters approve the change, and a board president to be elected from the city at large.

That last item proved contentious, however. The City Council last week passed a resolution opposing Butler’s bill, which some members insisted was “about race.”

Butler has denied that is the case, but on Tuesday he said, “Since the eighth member appears to be causing such heartburn for some on the City Council, I plan to remove the president at large portion of the bill in a spirit of unity.” He called it offering “an olive branch.”

Ford insists Butler can’t do that. “The problem with Mack wanting to amend the bill is that he doesn’t understand the legislative process,” he said. “You are not allowed by law to amend a bill ‘substantially.’ Therefore, you have to present a new piece of legislation and re-advertise the bill to start the process again. There’s plenty of time to do that.”

Ford said there also is a “constitutional issue” with Butler’s bill, and noted that Gadsden City Schools is still “dealing with elements of a desegregation consent decree, whether people like it or not.” (That decree, Miller & the United States of America v. Board of Education of Gadsden, was lifted in August 2005 and the system was declared fully unitary, and a 2016 motion for reconsideration was rejected.)

Butler said he initially was told by the Legislative Reference Service that the change in his bill was not substantial enough to necessitate re-advertising the bill. However, after learning from the LRS that the courts would be the final arbiter there, he now plans to re-advertise his legislation as quickly as possible, for the required time.

He said he believes the bill would survive a legal challenge, but “my gut feeling is I don’t want to allow a crack in the legislation whatsoever. Othni (Lathram, interim director of the LRS) says this will make it bulletproof."

Ford said he also plans to begin advertising his bill this week, after it is drafted. Along with changing how board members are chosen, it would require candidates to have the same qualifications required to be a substitute teacher in the school system — primarily, to have 30 hours of education beyond a high school diploma or GED.

Alabama’s code, 16-11-2, already says city school board members must be of good moral character, have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent, not employed by the city’s board of education, doesn’t serve on the governing board of a private elementary or secondary school, must not be on the national or state sex offender registries, cannot have been convicted of a felony and, if the board members are appointed or elected by district, must live in the district he or she represents.

Butler said he’d discussed his bill with Ford, both during the 2017 legislative session and when he advertised it in The Messenger, a local newspaper owned by Ford, and “Craig was in total agreement with it.”

He called Ford’s move political; Butler is seeking the District 10 Senate seat being vacated by Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, and there are strong indications Ford will oppose him.

“If I thought Craig had been opposed to it in any way,” Butler said, “I wouldn’t even have advertised it.”

He said he spent $3,200 to advertise the bill in Ford’s publication — he said he plans to personally pay for re-advertising it — and that it was irresponsible for Ford to use more taxpayer money to advertise another bill that, according to Williams, is doomed anyway should it get through the House.

Williams said Ford “is wasting our time, posturing for his own political gain.” He said Ford has “made commitments to the bill that’s already before the body,” and echoed Butler’s charge of irresponsibility on Ford’s part.

Earlier Tuesday, before the newest fireworks, Butler in addressing the change of his bill said he thought allowing each district to have some ownership of the president’s position made it stronger, “but it seems to be a hindrance for the council.”

He added, “My goal is to strengthen the Gadsden school system and help it continue to be an academic powerhouse, and I believe an elected school board will help achieve this goal.”

Council President Deverick Williams said Butler’s move “definitely is a step in the right direction.”

He said he and Butler spoke Monday, “which is probably where we should’ve started.”

Deverick Williams was one of the council members who last week maintained that the bill in its original form was about race, and reiterated that Tuesday, calling it an attempt to “flip-flop the political and racial balance of the board.” He said he’d also like to see Department of Justice scrutiny of any change in how the board is selected. “We were under a consent decree for a number of years,” he said, “because the federal government didn’t trust Alabama to do the right thing.”

The council will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in its chambers at City Hall for people to discuss Butler’s bill. “That’s probably where we should’ve started, too,” Deverick Williams said, “rather than with a phone call from one state school board member.”

He was referring to Mary Scott Hunter, who discussed the situation in Gadsden with Butler and last week said current board members should heed the bill’s message that there is “dissatisfaction” with their performance.

“After that (the meeting), if we see any real interest in an elected school board, then the public should be allowed to vote on it,” Deverick Williams said.

He noted that there was support on the council for the last effort to switch to an elected board, in 2008, “and if the electorate wants it now, we’ll support it.”

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